Netflix Streaming Quality Is Affected By Time Of Day

If you are trying to watch something on Netflix but it is not streaming in high definition then there might be a surprising reason why. It might not be because your internet is slow or Netflix is malfunctioning, it might simply be due to the time of day.

At peak times, which are expected to be between 7pm and 10pm on the date that a major new release has just landed, Netflix will have so much traffic that it cannot play video in the top 1080p for everyone. Some people have speculated that during these peak hours, Netflix is transferring so much information that it accounts for 34 per cent of all the internet speed in the United States. It will not be much different here in the United Kingdom.

This is one of the problems that Netflix has in comparison to conventional TV, and may be one of the reasons for people to hesitate pulling the plug and using streaming services entirely. The internet isn’t as stable as a television signal. It can go down when there is maintenance on the line or faults with your home’s internet. It can also be prone to lagging or reduced quality during peak times when there is a lot of usage.